Steady rain has fallen across the Wellington region since midnight, causing minor disruption.

A few roads have been closed by small landslips, the Johnsonville to Wellington railway line has closed after a passenger unit was derailed by a slip, a water reservoir in the Hutt Valley is being discharged into the Hutt River for fear it will overflow, and the Hutt River has risen due to rainfall and the reservoir spill, causing minor flooding.

Tawa Fire Service has been doing brisk business since about 10 a.m. responding to minor events around the region. Motorists on State Highway 1 face minor delays at Paekakariki due to a partial road blockage caused by the weather.

Many people presume that a company that has its name enter into common usage would think that it had died and gone to heaven.

To a certain extent this is true, as brand recognition is a key component of advertising and promotional campaigns. However, there is a point at which common use of a company’s name can be come a liability.

The recent public announcement that Mt Taranaki (Egmont) is expected to erupt within the next 50 years marks a sea-change for New Zealand’s geological scientists.

The announcement was made following a symposium at Massey University in Palmerston North where scientists discussed the effects that such an eruption would have on infrastructure and the economy. Mark Bebbington, of the Institute of Information Sciences and Technology at Massey’s Palmerston North campus, was specific in making the projection based on the volcano’s eruptive history.